Aaron Eckhart is on a run of action movies like The Bricklayer, but this unlikely career pivot was predicted by a forgotten thriller from 2012. Eckhart is an actor who first came to people’s attention for dark dramas like In the Company of Men, before moving into more mainstream fare during the 2000s, such as goofy blockbuster The Core. He’s a performer who has tackled just about every genre by this point, and one who tends to steal scenes no matter who he is working alongside.
There was a moment after the acclaim he received for his work as Harvey Dent/Two-Face in The Dark Knight that it appeared he was destined for movie stardom. Unfortunately, he never found the right project, because while he brought a lot to Battle: Los Angeles or I, Frankenstein, the films themselves were underwhelming. Eckhart is now transforming himself into an action star, thanks to streaming hits like 2024’s Chief of Station.
Even for admirers of the star, films like The Bricklayer casting him as an action lead might feel sudden. This actually isn’t the case, since Aaron Eckhart tested out his action skills first with 2012’s Erased, where his former CIA agent goes on the run with his teen daughter after being targeted by assassins. In many ways, Erased is a prototype for the genre work Eckhart is currently making, where he plays a character looking to lead a normal life when he’s pulled back into his old one. To survive, he uses a combination of smarts and punching/shooting.
Erased is also a film very much in the Taken mold, where Eckhart’s Ben appears to be a dweeby father before he reveals his “particular set of skills,” which include hand-to-hand combat and firearms. Sadly, what it lacks is the propulsive pacing of Taken, and the drama between Ben and his daughter Amy (Liana Liberato) is often more engaging than the setpieces. That’s not to say it isn’t enjoyable in an undemanding, Tuesday night action flick kind of way.
The film ultimately felt like a project where Eckhart was trying out his action chops to see how well the genre fit. Erased scored a dismal 30% on Rotten Tomatoes, and earned $1.3 million worldwide (via Box Office Mojo). It wasn’t a success during its limited run in the U.S. in May 2013, though Eckhart enjoyed a solid hit that same year with Olympus Has Fallen. In light of Erased’s failure, Eckhart moved away from the spy/action thriller genre, only to find his way back with the likes of Chief of Station years later.
Eckhart’s latest thriller is Chef of Station, where his (what else?) retired CIA operative uncovers a conspiracy whilst investigating his wife’s death. What’s startling about Chief of Station is the number of similarities it shares with Erased, from Eckhart playing a CIA agent named Ben to both featuring Olga Kurylenko in a key supporting role. Instead of having to save his teenage daughter, Chief of Station’s Ben has to rescue his kidnapped adult son instead.
A quick rewrite could have turned Chief of Station into a direct Erased sequel, but given how the latter came and went in 2012, it would be strange if they tried to make a belated follow-up. The big difference between the films is that Chief of Station was helmed by action veteran Jesse V. Johnson (The Debt Collector, Avengement), so there is a bigger focus on the action. The movie’s story is fairly clichéd by genre standards, but it’s Johnson’s crunchy setpieces that makes it stand out in comparison to Erased.
Chief of Station has received largely mixed reviews, but for those who enjoyed Eckhart in The Bricklayer, it’s worth seeking out. Eckhart will continue his action run with the upcoming Classified, where he plays another CIA agent who discovers something rotten about his employers. Eckhart will also reunite with Bricklayer director Renny Harlin for the disaster film Deep Water, where his character has no connection to the CIA (presumably). Instead, he’ll play a pilot forced to land in shark-infested waters, where he’ll need to save his passengers from being eaten.
Between Chief of Station, Classified and The Bricklayer, Aaron Eckhart is staking his claim in the action genre and shows no signs of moving on yet. What would really cement his status is The Bricklayer 2, since he needs a franchise to call his own. The original novel had a sequel called Agent X, and considering The Bricklayer was a comfortable hit, a follow-up makes total sense.
Source: Rotten Tomatoes, Box Office Mojo